While the Apple iPad (now in its third generation) has dominated the global tablet market, the tablet that has come the closest to making some headway against the market leader is the Kindle Fire from Amazon. With the next generation of Kindle Fire tablets incoming, Amazon issued a press release today stating that the first generation Kindle Fire is now "sold out".

Well in this case, "sold out" likely just means Amazon has ended production of the original Kindle Fire so it can ramp up production for the next generation of tablets. Amazon goes on to say that the Kindle Fire is Amazon's most successful product launch to date and that it has captured 22 percent of the U.S. tablet market in only nine months.

“We’re grateful to the millions of customers who have made Kindle Fire the most successful product launch in the history of Amazon,” said Jeff Bezos, Amazon.com Founder and CEO. “This has been a big year for digital products on Amazon—all of the top 10 sellers on Amazon.com since Kindle Fire launched just less than a year ago are digital products. Kindle Fire is sold out, but we have an exciting roadmap ahead—we will continue to offer our customers the best hardware, the best prices, the best customer service, the best cross-platform interoperability, and the best content ecosystem.”

Alleged next generation Kindle Fire [Image Source: The Verge]

In addition to the news about the original Kindle Fire's departure from this earth, The Verge has scored a solitary image of what it claims to be the next generation Kindle Fire.

Earlier reports have indicated that the second generation Kindle Fire will be available in both 7" and 10" varieties. Amazon is expected to announce the new Kindles in a Sept. 6 press conference.